Serendipity
by Barbiturates
Summary: AU where Rin, Makoto, Rei and Nagisa are special agents on an independant team. It's all dandy until one day Rin costs them a huge lead and they're forced to bring in a specialist to keep an eye on him. Said specialist is Nanase Haruka, the seemingly emotionless prodigy that makes Rin feel inferior in every way. But could there be something more than simple rivalry between them?
1. Stakeout

**I'm horrible at writing action scenes, so despite this being an AU about crime fighting and undercover agents, I'll attempt to focus more on the romance and relationships between characters? Does that even make sense? :S Regardless this is my first fic so constructive criticism is very welcome :) May be slightly OOC, which I hate but was kinda unavoidable :I**

**Disclaimer: I do not own Free! or its characters or even my own house wait what**

* * *

Rin sighed. Stakeout nights were _the worst_.

He'd been waiting patienlty on his perch for almost two hours, and by now was praying to every god he knew for someone to slip up so he could go all _Rambo: First Blood _on these thugs. Presently, Rin was occupying the upper beams of a building frame that was yet to be completed. It gave him a perfect view of the construction site underneath, whilst keeping him properly concealed from the drug peddlers he was supposed to be monitoring.

"World class criminals my ass," he muttered under his breath. They were eating bloody _sandwiches_.  
"…_Rin"_ came the cautious voice from his earpiece. It was a tone he had heard too many times before. Makoto had a tendency to use it whenever he felt Rin was going to do something reckless.

Rin rolled his eyes. "Don't _Rin _me, Makoto," he grumbled "this is ridiculous… I'm bored!"  
"I know I know," came the soothing reply. He almost sounded sorry. "Just… one more hour, okay?"  
"One more _hour_? It's already been two! Give me something to incapacitate or let me go home."  
"Rin, come one, don't forget why you've been demoted to stakeout duty in the first place..."

The redhead was just about to retort when the sound of tyres rolling on gravel caught his attention. The once disorderly group of men parted in perfect unison as they cleared a walkway for the latest member. Clad in an obnoxious purple suit, Rin could only guess he was the head honcho. For fuck's sake he looked more like a pimp than a high-end drug dealer.*****

From behind him, a large metallic briefcase was brought out and placed in his hands.

Rin's skin tingled with anticipation. "_Finally," _he breathed.

Makoto was quiet too, sensing the definite shift in atmosphere.

Seconds later, some lowly goon appeared with a fold-up table and bowed as he opened it up it in front of his superior. Rin wanted to laugh at how stupidly theatrical they were being. Heavily ringed fingers hovered over the locks of the briefcase. The redhead stirred impatiently, feeling like he was watching a strip tease, but instead of getting an eyeful of breasts, it'd be sacks of white powder. Same thing, he guessed. Rin bit his lip as he saw a single lock pop off, and leaned precariously away from the beams that were his only support.

"Wait!" he heart Makoto's voice cut in frantically. "RIN! REMEMBER-" But it was too late. The instant the case was opened, Rin leapt. He landed safely, albeit ungracefully onto the gravel, the men clearly startled by his presence. Before they could react, Rin already had two of them on the ground. He would've gone for more, but felt it was his duty to at least say a few words before taking them on.

Flashing his fake police badge and pointing an accusing finger, he shouted. "It's time for you to get your package searched!"

He heard Makoto face palm.

Horrified, the quasi drug dealer/pimp impersonator shrieked a quick "get him!" before making his way to flee, but Rin already had him by the collar and flung him to the ground. Punches were both thrown and received on his part. Rin was slightly thrown off when someone landed a solid kick on his ass. "Sorry," he retorted. "Not into kinky foreplay."_  
_

Despite getting in a few lucky shots here and there, the men were obviously not prepared for any confrontation tonight. They were slow, and despite being outnumbered 1:10 Rin was having no trouble making his way through the crowd. Within a matter of minutes, the entire group was either unconscious or groaning on their stomachs. It was only then that Rin realised Makoto had been screaming in his ear the entire time. He placed a finger to his earpiece as he walked towards the brief case, wincing.

"Geeze, Makoto. You'll get me deaf."  
"RIIIIIIIN. Do you have any idea what you've just done! This was meant to be a _stakeout_! We were only supposed to gather intel, remember? Oh no… What are we going to do now? Oh my god... Oh god the director's going to _kill _me. What are we going to do-" Rin drowned out the sound of Makoto's whining- a skill he'd developed over his five year friendship with the boy. Really, he worried too much.

"Hey, Makoto," he cut in. "Do you mind sending Nagisa over to pick me up? Wait, no. Screw that. I don't feel like getting pulled over today. The kid's legal but he just _looks _too young to be behind the wheel, y'know? Send Rei over then. Or is he still fiddling with that computer of his..." Rin made idle chatter as the adrenaline wore off. He inspected the briefcase, wondering how all of it was worth.  
"Wait," Makoto interrupted. "Car? Are you hurt? Rin? Are you okay?"  
"Calm down. My ass just totally hurts when I walk." Makoto was silent.  
"…Why would your ass be hurting...?"  
"Someone landed a kick. Why else?"  
"Oh, nothing. I thought you were making another sex joke." Rin chuckled. Sometimes Makoto knew him _too _well. Said boy sighed.  
"You're going to have a hard time getting out of this one, Rin. I warned you and you still…"  
"Sorry. Couldn't help myself" Rin replied nonchalantly as he dusted himself off.

It wasn't the first time he'd gone against direct orders. Even since Rin had joined the team, he'd always done things his way. Makoto, who was the special agent in charge and therefore his superior (despite only being a few months older than Rin), always did his best to keep the tenacious redhead in check, but failed to do so more often than not. Maybe it was their close friendship... or their lack of age difference... or even just Rin's natural defiance of authority, but Rin just didn't feel the need to ever take the boy's warnings into serious consideration. Either way, nothing really big ever came of it. He expected a lecture and a few pleas to behave himself. Maybe even a minor suspension. No big. Things would be fine, as always.

* * *

**THE NEXT DAY**

"No."  
"Rin-"  
"I refuse."  
"Rin-"  
"Just no. I say no."  
"RIN."  
"What?"  
"It's this, or you'll get kicked out."

Rin digested that for a moment. They were in their underground office at the moment, situated under a department store as a façade. He realised he may never see this place again, the epiphany finally dawning on him. Makoto, seeing the look of dread settke in his eyes, he added more soothingly:

"Look Rin, I'm sorry. But I'm merely relaying the director's words. He's... really mad right now. I mean, we lost a major lead when you beat those guys up. They were supposed to lead us to the main warehouse and Rei even had the tracking system all set up and you just..."  
"I blew it."  
"Yeah... I'm sorry."  
Rin sighed. "Makoto, stop apologising... it's not your fault. _I'm sorry._"  
Said boy cast his emerald eyes down, making him appear even more sincere than usual. "So now what?"  
Rin clenched his fists, his sharp teeth digging into his lower lips. "I can stay if I agree to try out this... new program thing, right?"  
Makoto looked visibly relieved. "Yeah! I mean, they try to make it all fancy by calling it a 'new program' but its really means you get assigned to a partner."  
"And if I agree to work with this guy then I can stay on the team?"  
"You work with him and he makes sure you stay on task. The success rate of the following missions will determine if you stay on the team or not. That's all there is to it."  
"Okay. Fine. _Fine_. I'll try things with the new kid." Makoto smiled, relieved that his stubborn friend was finally getting himself on track.  
"So... Do we have a name?" The older boy nodded, extracting a file from his drawer.  
"It saaaaaays..." They read the name in unison.

"Nanase Haruka."

* * *

**Well that was a pretty boring chapter and I know a lot of things don't really make sense yet. I promise next chapter I will reveal more about Nagisa and Rei's roles on the team as well as the relationship between Rin, Makoto and the director etc. Also Haru gets introduced :) YAY! Also does anyone watch Boondocks? Cos the drug peddler was meant to be based off A Pimp Named Slickback and his purple suit hehe **


	2. Introductions

**So I didn't want to update until I finished watching episode 6 of **_**Free!**_** in case there was anything new I could use for character development. Especially on Haruka. He's a hard one to understand, let alone write, I think. Needless to say I'm more confused than ever. Much shorter than the other one... sorry!**

* * *

"I wonder if she's pretty! I really hope she's pretty! She must be pretty, right Rin-chan? Haruka sounds like a pretty girl's name!"  
"Nagisa, it's not polite to make assumption about people…"  
"But Mako-chan, wouldn't it be nice if we had a girl in the office for once?"

Currently, Nagisa was bouncing around the office like a child who had forgotten to take his ADD meds, assaulting both Makoto and Rin with a flurry or questions.

Rin sighed. Already three days had passed since he'd screwed up that mission and nearly got himself kicked off the team. He was banned from taking any new missions without the presence of a supervisor, and therefore was placed under minor suspension until this Nanase Haruka's arrival. Said arrival was scheduled today. Thirty minutes ago.

"She's late," Rin muttered anxiously. "_Really _late_." _Half of him was genuinely excited. Having the new kid here would mean he could start working again, and he _needed _to work again. But the other half- the stronger half- told him to be wary. It was a defence mechanism he'd developed during his previous life on the streets, and hell if it hadn't kept him alive this far.

Makoto glanced at the clock. "Hmm… I wonder if she's lost."  
At that, Nagisa splayed his palms against his cheeks in an over-exaggerated display of worry. "Oh no! Then we have to find her!"  
Rin scoffed. "And why are _you_ so excited anyway? A new member just means another coffee you have to pick up in the mornings."  
Nagisa frowned, his hands now balled up against his sides. "Because Rin-chan, I'm the official team caretaker, it's my job to look after everyone!"  
"Nagisa," Rin's voice lowered, as he leaned closer to the blond "your our lackey. You do our chores and bring us coffee. Makoto just calls you that to make you feel better." Nagisa promptly turned to Makoto, his eyes full of betrayal. The older teen shot Rin what he assumed was an attempt at an accusing glare. It turned out more pleading. Rin shrugged.

Makoto held his hands up defensively before facing the Nagisa again.  
"Ehehe… Look, Nagisa…" But before Makoto could defend himself, the front door flung open. Everyone's heads turned immediately, could this finally be-

"What's all the commotion about?"  
A dishevelled Rei ambled into the room, yawning as he massaged the knots out of his neck with one hand. Rin released a breath he didn't know he was holding. "What the hell man, don't make such a dramatic entrance when you know we're expecting someone!"  
Rei turned towards him. "Expecting…? What? She's not here yet?"  
Makoto shook his head. "She appears to be running late."  
The bluenette glanced down at his watch, frowning. "But's it's already been forty minutes…"  
"Tell me about it!" Rin cut in, throwing his hands up in an defeat. "And I thought I could start kicking some ass again today…"  
"Well that ass-kicking is precisely what got you into this mess. I suggest you refrain from such impulses, Rin-san."  
"Yeah, well I suggest you go back to wanking in front of your computer." At that, Rei choked a little, blushing.  
"You know very well that my computer has never been used for such _vulgar-_"_  
_"Oh come on, what else do you do holed up in that room all day?"  
"Preparing GPS software for a mission _you _screwed up."  
"Are you insulting me?!"  
"I made no such implications. You insinuated that on your own Rin-san."  
"Fight me, bitch!"  
"On the contrary, I refuse to entertain your masochistic needs-"

Amongst Rin and Rei's bantering and Makoto's futile attempts to placate both a possible fist-fight and a still-sulking Nagisa, nobody noticed the front door slip open.

*cough*

For the second time that day, all heads turned simultaneously. There in the doorway stood the most handsome boy Rin had ever seen.

"_Shit,_" he thought "_he's prettier than_ _me._"The stranger's pale complexion, paired with the delicate bone structure of his jaw and the neat but effortlessly styled hair made Rin wonder if this guy had ever thrown a punch. Or if he even was a guy. Unconsciously, his gaze drifted to the newcomer's crotch.

The silence was almost painful. Nagisa was the first to speak.

"EHH? Haru-chan is a boy?!"

As if his words were a trigger, the three other boys immediately straightened up as Makoto walked nervously over to the newcomer. Extending a hand and a warm smile, he introduced himself.

"You must be Nanase-san? Hi, I'm Tachibana Makoto, agent in charge. Pleased to meet you." Haruka took his hand, shaking it curtly before replying.  
"Thanks." Not taken aback by his cold disposition, Makoto turned slightly to usher him in. Once they were all within the confines of the office, the introductions continued.  
"These are my colleagues. Ryugazaki Rei, technician and logistics manager." Rei nodded in casual regard, though he kept his arms crossed against his chest.  
"...Hazuki Nagisa, team caretaker and-"  
"Lackey," Rin coughed.  
"Rin-chan!" He was already grinning like a shark. Makoto sighed.  
"And this is special agent Matsuoka Rin, your new partner."

Haruka turned to Rin as the redhead's smile faded away into a small frown, his irises dancing with challenge and contempt. Neither of them made a move to shake hands.  
"_Speak, pretty boy._" Rin thought. As if reading his mind, Haruka looked to the side before muttering.  
"Hmph. What a pain."

Rin hated him already.

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**Well, see you next chapter! Reviews are welcome of course. And before I forget! Thank you to the user who commented on my last chapter ^3^ It really made my day :)**


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